


you whom my soul loves

by procellous



Series: let our hearts be united [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, WAFF, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 00:47:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10686333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/procellous/pseuds/procellous
Summary: Matt, Shiro, and a much-deserved break





	you whom my soul loves

**Author's Note:**

> i'm going to take this moment to plug fighter's block, it's an online writing service that is in a large way responsible for getting this finished! you can find it at: http://cerey.github.io/fighters-block/

Matt was planning something, Shiro could tell. Ever since they had woken up this morning, Matt had had a faint half-smile, not unlike a cat that had caught a canary.  
  
This vacation had been Matt's idea; he had dragged Shiro out to a tiny cabin in the woods for a weekend to get him to de-stress for, in his words, "At least five seconds, seriously Shiro, how do you not have an ulcer yet."  
  
Allura had promised to call them if anything happened, but for now, Black was in the Castle orbiting above them and Shiro was at Matt's mercy.  
  
And Matt was planning something.  
  
Shiro narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend as he made brunch. Matt planning something wasn't new; Matt planning something and Shiro still not having a vague hint of what it was after five minutes alone with him was.  
  
"Hey, Shiro, do you mind hulling some strawberries?" Matt gestured to the small pile of slightly damp strawberries sitting on a paper towel.  
  
"Sure," Shiro said, still trying to figure out why Matt was so smug.  
  
At least hulling strawberries didn't require thought. The small knife sliced through the tops easily, and the simple, rhythmic motion allowed Shiro time to think about something other than what his hands were doing.  
  
Matt was planning something, something that obviously involved him. Whatever it was, it was something his was being abnormally quiet about, which meant it was something big; something important enough that it had to be kept secret.  
  
A sharp pain in his thumb made him look down. He had nicked himself with the knife without realizing it. He licked his thumb and went back to cutting, but Matt grabbed his wrist.  
  
"Let me see?"  
  
"It's nothing, just nicked myself."  
  
Matt gave him an odd look. "Please take care of yourself," he said, pecking Shiro on the cheek.  
  
"It's fine, I wasn't thinking about what I was doing, that's all." Abruptly he realized that could sound really worrying. "Not in a bad way," he tacked on, "Just…got distracted. Lost in thought. You know."  
  
"What were you thinking about that got you so distracted?"  
  
What you're planning was probably not a good answer. "Stuff," he hedged. "Nothing important, really."  
  
"You were thinking about the kids, weren't you?"  
  
"Yeah," he said, going with it. "They're probably getting into all sorts of trouble up there."  
  
"Allura's watching them, and you're acting really weird. Are you feeling okay?"  
  
"I'm fine, Matt, really."  
  
"You don't sound fine," he said. "You sound like you're trying to hide something. Is something wrong? Did—did I do something wrong? Is it me?" Matt's eyes were suspiciously shiny.  
  
"No! Matt, it's nothing, I'm just worried about the others and getting distracted. Nothing's wrong, I swear."  
  
Something smelled like smoke.  
  
"Shit," Matt said. "That'd be the french toast burning." He turned back to the griddle, and produced a pair of slightly charred slices of toast. Shiro felt vaguely guilty about it; if he hadn't been distracted then he wouldn't have distracted Matt and they wouldn't have had burnt toast. Matt frowned. "Shiro, don't, it's fine. We have more toast, I can make more easily, it's not a problem. Do you mind getting some out for me? The bread's in the fridge, bottom right corner."  
  
The bread was right where Matt said it was, a full loaf of sliced bread. Somehow, even after a year and a half of having enough food, the habits from the arena were hard to shake. This loaf would have fed him for a month, easily, and more if he rationed it out. How was Matt so calm, so certain about having enough? He had been imprisoned for twice as long as Shiro had.  
  
"Shiro," Matt said. "Shiro, we have way more food right now than we need, and we're not going to run out, because there's a store right down the road. It's okay, Shiro, we have enough."  
  
"Right." He shook his head a little to clear the thoughts out. "There's enough. I just…"  
  
"I know, love. I know." Matt laid a hand on Shiro's cheek. "Are you okay?"  
  
Shiro nodded.  
  
"Okay. I'm going to make french toast, and we're going to have a nice brunch. Sound good?"  
  
"Sounds great. Sorry, I didn't mean for this to turn into a whole thing."  
  
"It's fine. Hey, Shiro, I love you. All of you. Even when you're trying not to freak out over bread."  
  
Something warm unfurled in Shiro's chest. Matt said it so easily and so sincerely. "Love you too." He kissed the back of Matt's neck, just to make him shiver.  
  
"Cold nose!" Matt yelped. "Go warm your nose up before kissing me."  
  
"But I thought you loved all of me," Shiro said, mock-pouting. "Besides, your hands are freezing all the time, and I'm not the one who puts cold, ice cube feet all over my back."  
  
"Well then, maybe you shouldn't have such a warm back."  
  
"Or maybe _you_ should wear socks."  
  
"Wearing socks to bed feels weird. Feet were meant to be free." Matt sniffed with disdain.  
  
"Feet were meant to not get frostbite," Shiro shot back.  
  
"I'm not going to get frostbite." Shiro could hear the eye roll as Matt gathered the strawberries up. "Could you get the sugar down? Top cupboard, it's in a box labelled sugar because I'm creative."  
  
The sugar was impressively high up; he'd have to stand on tip-toe to reach it. "Matt, how did you even get this up there?"  
  
"Carefully." Matt was watching Shiro stretch, and the smug smile was back. "Also, I used a step stool."  
  
"Cheater."  
  
"Uh-huh," Matt said, eyes focused on the strip of skin revealed when Shiro reached up. "Yup, this is cheating. Absolutely."  
  
"Here you go," Shiro said. "One box of sugar."  
  
"Thanks, love." He pecked Shiro's cheek.  
  
A minute later he pulled Shiro into the dining room to eat syrup-covered french toast and powdered sugar-covered strawberries, and Shiro kissed all the powdered sugar off of his mouth. 

* * *

Matt tangled their hands together, curling into Shiro's side. Outside the cabin, it had started to rain, but there was a fire in the fireplace and Shiro was warm. The gentle patter was soothing. It was easy to pretend nothing existed but them and the cabin and the sound of the rain.  
  
The ring box was burning a hole in Matt's pocket, the two interlocking rings still inside. He had practiced his speech for hours, making sure it was perfect. This needed to be a perfect moment, something that they'd treasure forever. The entire point of this weekend was to get Shiro alone. He loved the kids, he did, but they had a habit of having disasters at exactly the wrong moment. So, he rented the cabin, made sure that everything was stocked and ready, arranged it all perfectly, and gotten Shiro to take a vacation.  
  
The last part was the hardest; Shiro didn't relax easily to begin with, and between their imprisonment and being leader of the Paladins, Shiro and relaxation were opposing forces.  
  
Luckily, Matt was a barnacle stuck to the pier of stubborn. Shiro never stood a chance.  
  
Matt hummed happily and curled into Shiro's side. Shiro ran a hand along his back, kissing the top of his head.  
  
"Are you purring?" Shiro said.  
  
"Maybe." He stretched his legs out. "This is nice. I could get used to this."  
  
"So could I," Shiro said.  
  
"It's getting late, I should get dinner ready."  
  
"Want some help?"  
  
Matt smiled as he stood up. "Nah, I've got it." For one thing, it was just microwaved lasagna, and for another, the ring was going to be a surprise. Not much of a surprise if Shiro spotted the ring before it was time.

He pulled the two halves of the ring apart, and put his own half back into the ring box. He had to keep a straight face through dinner, or Shiro would start to get suspicious. He probably wouldn't guess that Matt was about to propose, but if he was anticipating something, then he'd start to tense up and wouldn't enjoy the moment properly. Matt knew Shiro too well to keep him guessing.  
  
This was going to be the perfect moment. Matt had managed to keep him out of the dining room long enough to set up a bouquet of dahlias, Shiro's favorite. He carefully arranged the ring at the bottom of a plate of tiny brownies—Shiro wouldn't eat it by accident, because of how the brownies were piled around it, but it was still out of sight and in the perfect place to get revealed after dinner. All that was left for Matt to do was to heat the actual food up, and to panic about things going wrong.  
  
The microwave beeped and Matt pulled out the lasagna, going through his mental checklist as he set it on the table. Food, check. Ring, check. Flowers, check. Hidden cameras, check. Shiro—he glanced into the other room to make sure Shiro hadn't vanished; weirder things had happened—check. Candles, check. He lit a match off the stove and lit them.  
  
Everything was ready.  
  
"Hey, Shiro, you want something to drink?"  
  
"Water," Shiro said, wrapping his arms around Matt from behind him. Matt jumped a little.  
  
"It's fine, just didn't hear you come up," he said, before Shiro could say anything. "Hi there."  
  
"Hi. That smells good."  
  
"Hope you're hungry." He closed his eyes and leaned back against Shiro's chest. "There's dessert, too." He swatted Shiro's hands away from the brownies. "For after dinner."    
  
Shiro kissed the top of Matt's head. "We should eat dinner then."  
  
"Mhmm. We should. You go in, I'll be there in a second." Shiro gave him an odd look. "You wanted water, right? I'll get it, it's no big deal."  
  
"Alright," Shiro said, but he sounded doubtful, and didn't leave until Matt handed him a glass of water. "You're okay, right?"  
  
Matt could have laughed. He grabbed the plate of brownies from the counter to have something else in his hands. "I'm fine."  
  
"It's just…you've been acting a little weird all weekend, and I wanted to make sure you're okay."  
  
He kissed Shiro on the cheek. "I'm okay, I promise. Just let me take care of you for a while. Remember you trust me."  
  
"I remember," Shiro said.  
  
Matt could have savored the look on Shiro's face when he saw the table for the rest of his life.  
  
"I hope you like it, Keith nearly stabbed me when I asked what your favorite flowers were. Although, to be fair to Keith, the middle of the night was probably not the best time to ask."  
  
"I'm just confused that Keith knew I liked dahlias."  
  
"Yeah, he's full of surprises."  
  
Shiro smiled, and Matt felt a little bit like a flower in sunlight. 

* * *

"This was a good idea," Shiro said as they ate. "I mean, not just the flowers and candles, but also the whole weekend was just a good idea. We should take vacations more."  
  
"Wow," Matt said around a forkful of lasagna. "Takashi Shirogane advocating for vacations. I should have gotten that on video."  
  
"It's not that bizarre."  
  
"I don't think you've taken a break since you enrolled in the Garrison."  
  
That…was probably true. Shiro thought back through the years. Obviously he hadn't taken vacations since the Kerberos mission, and even on school breaks he usually had some kind of work to do.  
  
"Alright, fair point," he conceded, "But seriously, this is fun." He reached out and laid his hand on Matt's.  
  
Matt smiled, taking Shiro's hand in his. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."  
  
"Well, I get to spend time with the man I love, and there have been no disasters to distract us from enjoying ourselves." Shiro paused for a half-moment. "There's going to be a disaster in about five minutes, isn't there."  
  
"I hope not. Are you done with your dinner cake?"  
  
"Dinner cake?" Shiro echoed.  
  
"Lasagna is basically cake with pasta and meat."  
  
"That sounds wrong but I can't argue with it. Yeah, I'm done."  
  
Matt grabbed his plate and walked out into the kitchen. Shiro grabbed a brownie off the small pile, and noticed something glinting underneath it. He carefully pulled it out and arranged the brownies back into the pile. It was a ring; a silver band studded with small dark sapphires that looped up around a teardrop shaped diamond.  
  
This explained so much of how weird Matt had been acting. Shiro had been going through worst-case scenarios while Matt had just been worried about proposing.  
  
Shiro turned the ring between his fingers, watching the stone catch the light. Typical Matt, making all the grand gestures. He tucked the ring into his pocket just as Matt came back in. Time to flip the script on Matt.  
  
Matt plucked a brownie off the top of the pile and ate it in one bite. Shiro did the same, and in short order there were no brownies left, revealing the lack of ring. Matt looked simultaneously confused and worried. Shiro hid his smile in the rim of his glass.  
  
"Hey, Matt," he started, and realized he should maybe have thought about what he was going to say before right this instant. "Do you know when I first realized that I loved you? You were about to take your quals, and you passed out because you hadn't been sleeping. Remember? I had come in to wish you luck and you stood up for about half a second before you collapsed. I was terrified, and then I was just worried, and that was when I realized that I love you. I still do, although please never scare me like that again." Matt had a hand pressed to his mouth. His eyes were suspiciously bright. Shiro could feel himself tearing up, and he knelt down beside Matt's chair. "So, Matthew Holt," he said, pulling the ring out of his pocket and holding it up, fighting to keep his voice even, "Will you marry me?"  
  
"You absolute asshole, I was worried one of us had swallowed that ring and we'd have to go to the ER."  
  
"Is that a yes?"  
  
"Yes, you jerk." Matt slid into Shiro's arms and Shiro couldn't help kissing him. "Alright, here, give me your hand, it's sized for your fingers." Matt slipped the ring onto Shiro's finger. "Fun fact about that ring, it's part of a set. There's a matching one, and it's right here." Matt pulled a jewelry box out of his pocket and revealed a ring almost identical to the one that was on Shiro's hand now. It was smaller, for one thing, was made out of gold instead of silver, and didn't have the small jewels set into the band. Shiro slid it onto Matt's finger.  
  
"I had a whole speech, you know," Matt said mournfully.  
  
"You could still give it. I'll even acct surprised when you ask me to marry you."  
  
"Nah. I like yours better, anyhow." Matt kissed him gently. "I love you."  
  
"Ai shitemasu yo," Shiro said, softly. With Matt here in his arms, there was nothing more he could want. 


End file.
